Team Fortress 2: Taking Flight
by CaptainFleeper
Summary: Due to terrible anger management issues, a young woman seeks employment by the only place she thinks will accept her-a place called Teufort! -T for mild language, plenty of violence, and more likely than not some romance later on.-
1. Chapter 1

****Hello!****

****Here it is—my first ever published fanfiction...well, chapter one at least. I'm thinking this is going to be a semi-reader insert because yep I'm terrible at names, no anytime you see (f/n) in the text, just fill it in with an OC, your name, etc. Also, because I'm SUCH a fangirl, there probably will be some sort of relationship developed between the main character and one of the mercs. Most likely Medic, BUT if anyone out there wants to see a different pairing I might make other chapters that follow that storyline instead. (I'll try to avoid making her Mary-Suish, I promise…even though her back-story here sounds a bit cliché.)****

I stared up at the giant steel doors, emblazoned with faded and worn words, no longer readable, but there as a testament to the structure's long and arduous history. Bullet dents and scuffs littered the surface, and there were words and stick figures wielding guns and swords scrawled into the caked-on dust, reading stuff like "Spy smells" and "BONK!".

I noticed a small control panel to the left of the door and approached it, thinking maybe that was how you got inside. After all, no one had told me how to enter and Sniper had disappeared before I could ask him any questions.

I shouldered my bag and reached for the panel, flipping the rusty lip open and looking at the mechanics inside.

There was a small LED screen and a few knobs with long-since faded labels, and a couple of buttons.

I sighed in frustration. "It's got to be one of these..." I said aloud, examining each of the options. I hesitantly pressed one of the buttons and waited.

Nothing happened.

Wrinkling my brow I tried another button. Still no effect.

Getting irritated, I swore under my breath and mashed the panel, twisting knobs and slamming the buttons all at once. "Come on! Little son of a-" I grit my teeth and pounded the device, hard.

The panel gave a little, sad sounding beep, and buzzed loudly before it fell off the wall and into the ground at my feet.

Wow, I hadn't even gotten into the building and I'd already broken something. My shoulders sagged and I unclenched my fists. This is the whole reason why I had to come here in the first place, and here I was blowing it again.

Feeling stupid and angry at the same time, I bent down and gingerly picked up the remains of the panel...

~Flashback~

I had recently fallen on hard times back home, ever since my dad abandoned us and left my mom with me and my siblings to take care of alone. I was the oldest, and felt obliged to help out the family however I could.

At first I tried to get a regular job but I couldn't hold one down for any length of time. Whenever I started to get the hang of whatever it was I was doing, something would happen to spark my temper. Then...things got messy. Fast.

Yeah, it wasn't my fault I had the temper of a rabid rhinoceros with a migraine. It was just the type of person I was, and I guess when you have anger management issues like that, trying to sell flowers to senior citizens or taking short stack orders in a diner aren't the best job choices for you.

People got hurt...by me. Most of the time I was able to escape the police and I would just skip town for a week or two until the incident was forgotten... But I never was able to keep a decent paycheck coming, and my poor family was suffering because of it.

Finally I had found the help wanted flyer looking for a new worker at this old dust canyon called Teufort, and seeing how carelessly and haphazardly the poster had been put together (with several typos and spelling mistakes and a whole lot of exclamation points) I decided, hey, why not? How discriminating could they be?

I hopped on the train after telling my mom where I was going, and within the day I had arrived in the middle of scenic nowhere.

The train station wasn't much more than just a platform in the middle of the desert with a few sun bleached benches and a rusted water fountain. The sun beat down mercilessly on me, and even though only moments ago I had been on the air-conditioned, comfortable train, I was already feeling the effects of the blistering heat. I fanned myself with the flyer as I looked around for my contact. The flyer had merely said that my new employers would greet me at the station on the 23rd, and here I was, but no one was in sight.

The day dragged on. I got tired of standing by the tracks, so I wandered around the general area. I tried to sit on the benches but they were boiling from the heat.

Where were these people?

After almost an hour and a half, during some of which I took a quick nap, I finally saw signs of civilization.

A beat up old van was approaching at a fine clip, bouncing along the sandy, tough ground towards the platform.

I hopped up, hoping this was what I'd been waiting for.

The van came to a stop right next to the platform. It was covered in dirt, grime, and a thick, dark brown crusty material I hoped wasn't blood, in addition to a hefty serving of bullet holes.

A lean, gruff looking fellow wearing a fedora and reflective orange shades got out of the vehicle and looked around. He had on a worn pale blue t shirt with a leather vest over it, and dark brown pants with boots. Overall he wasn't bad to look at, but I still had no idea who he was.

He noticed me right off, but didn't approach me or anything...he just sort of stood there, staring at me. Looking all mysterious. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other and stared right back, eyes narrowed.

Finally he shrugged and walked over.

"G'day." He said awkwardly. Australian, I thought.

He continued, "I'm the Sniper. From Teufort. I was sent here to pick up some new recruit. 'You know if there's a bloke around here who's looking for a job?"

I nodded nervously. "Oh, uh, yeah. Right. I think you're looking for me." I held up the flyer and he took it.

He looked back and forth from me to the flyer a few times. He seemed a little confused.

"Is there a problem?" I asked.

Sniper shook his head and pocketed the flyer. "No no. Not at all. Just that I wasn't 'specting a girl."

He ushered me into the van. I gave him a questioning look, and he said, "Don't worry. It's completely safe." He patted the van affectionately. "This here's my home."

I finally clambered into the car, Sniper tossed my bag in the back, then started up the old engine again.

It roared to life after a moment of stalling, and seconds later we were careening down the dusty paths towards my new future.

The drive had been rather long. And awkward. Sniper had said very little during the ride, only occasionally asking how I was doing to break the painful silence, to which I replied I was doing fine. Confused, yes, but fine.

The interior of the van was full of garbage. Empty beer bottles, chipped coffee mugs, used shells, socks, and crumpled napkins and food wrappers were scattered everywhere, bouncing around with the movement of the car, and I thought I saw a mouse scurry past my foot once.

"Sooooo," I said slowly, scratching a bug bite on my neck, "where exactly are we going? You said you were form somewhere called...what was it, Tofufort?"

Sniper glanced at me sideways. "Teufort. Yeah."

"Oh ok."

We didn't talk much more. I tried asking him about what exactly Teufort was, or what his job was, but he only grunted "yeh'll see soon enough."

Although, with a name like Sniper, I doubt his job was something like wedding cake decorating.

We finally made a sudden, sharp right turn just as the sun was beginning to set. The road got really bumpy for about a hundred feet or so, then it leveled off and the van slowed.

"Here we are." Sniper said brightly, switching the van into idle.

It front of the van was some sort of enormous structure, built directly into the side of a cliff side. There were massive metal doors and red alarm lights encased in wire cages, and, what do you know, more bullet holes everywhere you looked.

An idea popped into my head as I looked at the entrance.

"Sniper. Is Teufort a military base?"

Sniper chuckled. "Nope, no need to worry about that. Off you go. If you really are the new recruit, then they'll be expecting you inside."

I wrenched open the van's door with some difficulty and Sniper tossed me my bag. Then he shifted the van into reverse and drove away with a puff of smoggy exhaust and the screech of tires against dusty ground.


	2. Chapter 2

**((Ah ok so here it is, chapter two! I'm so chapter one was so short, I was just feeling around to get a hold of what was going on. The action starts to pick up here, and please feel free to leave suggestions! :D this chapter does have hints of OC/main characterXMedic, so if you hate stuff like that...I'm sorry. It's over quickly though, and like I said, I may possibly do multiple storylines with the different classes. Anyway, here we go!))**

~inside the administrator's office~

Helen, the Administrator, surveyed the grainy feed from security camera 4C. A young woman, probably in her twenties, was fiddling around with the access panel she had just broken moments before, trying to fix it.

A small smirk crossed the administrator's lips and she lit a cigarette. It had been amusing to watch her lose her temper instead of merely holding down the intercom button and ask to be let inside, and she was eager to see what this newcomer would do next.

The young woman continued to poke and prod the broken device, and occasionally a tiny spring or wire would fall out of it. She seemed to be getting frustrated, and she started to yell a little bit. Although the camera didn't pick up sound, the administrator could tell from from her expression and gesticulating what types of choice phrases she was letting fly. It was almost funny.

"Ma'am?" Came a voice from behind Helen's swivel chair, "should I send someone outside to greet her?" Miss Pauling, the administrator's assistant, asked. "If she doesn't get help soon she might just decide to leave."

The administrator took a deep breath, eyes still on the screen, where the girl was now sitting cross legged on the ground, picking up all the broken pieces and arranging them in piles, a thoughtful expression on her face. She looked like she genuinely wanted to fix the machine but didn't know how.

"Ma'am?" Miss Pauling repeated, waiting for an answer.

Helen turned away to face her assistant. "All right. Just make sure to send someone who won't scare or hurt her. The last thing we want is a fight-or-flight response from this one."

Miss Pauling nodded and hurried out of the office, leaving the administrator alone with her thoughts.

~back outside~

So far, things weren't going my way today.

I'd already broken the stupid control panel, tried to fix it, broken it more, swore at it, and was now plopped on my rear trying to fix it again before someone found out...if anyone was even there. I was starting to wonder if this wasn't some big cruel prank, and if this "Teufort" wasn't an just an abandoned warehouse or something.

I stared down at the assorted parts of the device. There were a handful of springs and wires, a few small circuit boards, and plenty of other odds and ends I had no idea what were for.

I felt a queasy sensation in my gut, the same feeling I always got right before I got fired from my other jobs.

Maybe I should just leave, I thought. No one has even tried to help me, I'm still alone. They might not even know I'm here. There probably isn't even anyone here.

I got up, brushing the dirt and debris off my pants. A felt a little twinge of pain in my hand and looked down to see I had sliced my palm with a piece of the broken control panel that had stuck to my jeans.

I grit my teeth and wiped the blood off.

Yeah. I think I'll go. I've had enough.

I turned and started walking in the direction from where Sniper had driven in. However then a rather shocking thought occurred to me: I had no idea how to get back from where I came from. There was nothing but barren desert for miles around.

I stopped short.

A sinking feeling of dread was edging its way into me, and I started to walk back to the entrance, realizing I was screwed.

I stared at the doors, noticing that in the rapidly fading twilight, they looked much bigger and more menacing than before.

I swallowed. Flickering, buzzing fluorescent lights sparked to life along the walls of the building, bathing the area in a dim, bluish light.

I felt so small, so stupid. I wanted to go home. But home, I reminded myself, was miles and miles away, and going home now would only disappoint my poor mother more.

Remembering my mom and siblings steeled my confidence a little. I'm going to conquer this, I thought resolutely. I am going to get hired. I'm going to be the best there is at whatever this job is going to be, and I'm going to make my mother happy.

I gripped my duffle bag's strap tightly and took a deep breath.

Suddenly, there was an ear-splitting grinding noise of metal against metal. The red alert lights started flashing, and a loud, wailing alarm went off.

Crap. They found out what I'd done.

Any courage I'd mustered up the minute before vanished. I dropped my bag on the ground, turned tail, and ran. All I wanted to do was get away from here as fast as I could.

Then I heard a voice yelling at me from behind. "Vait! Fräulein!"

I didn't stop, but I did peek over my shoulder a bit at my pursuer. Running up behind me (and catching up quickly, might I add) was a tall guy wearing a lab coat, rubber gloves, and glasses. A doctor of some sort, I guess.

Fear accumulated in the pit of my stomach. I've always been a little scared of doctors and their stupid needles and scalpels and cold metal tables. Having one chase me through a desolate desert military base (or whatever the heck this place was) seemed a little too much like a nightmare come to life than I cared to think about.

I closed my eyes and put all my energy into moving my legs faster, but my breathing was uneven and ragged. My muscles burned, lungs felt like they were about to pop.

I felt myself slowing down. I stared up into the darkening sky where tiny silver stars started to dot the heavens.

Everything felt like it was in slow motion now. I felt my legs buckle beneath me, then my shoulder hit the ground, followed by my head. The impact rattled my skull and I saw stars dance across my vision, but these ones weren't in the sky.

I couldn't get enough air. I just lay there, covered in sweat and dirt, gasping for oxygen like a beached fish.

A dark shape loomed over me suddenly. The doctor guy.

I was too tired and horrified to move. To talk. I couldn't do anything.

A distant, tinny voice came to my ears. "Vhat vere you zhinking? Do you zhink I vas trying to hurt you?"

I tried to say, "actually, yeah" but it came out like a raspy gasp.

Next I felt hands helping me to my feet. I felt another surge of fear, but the hands weren't rough or forceful, just gentle, trying to get me up again.

Then I discovered my legs had decided not support my own weight.

They turned into jelly beneath me and I fell forward again. Tears started in my eyes and I swore, angry with myself for screwing up. But then again, that's what I always managed to do, wasn't it?

"Can you valk?" The doctor asked tentatively.

I shook my head sorrowfully, embarrassed and tired, overwhelmed from today's events. "I...I'm sorry..."

The doctor shook his head. "Don't be. Ve should have come and found you before zhings got out of hand."

I look up towards the entrance. I had run about three hundred feet or so before I collapsed, and looking at the distance between me and safety (or at least supposed safety) made my head swim.

The doctor knelt down in front of me and looked me in the eye. "Vould you permit me to carry you back to zhe base?" His glasses reflected the stars, speckling the lenses with little pinpricks of light.

I hesitated. Will I trust this random german doctor who I know nothing about, and go back to the place where I might be arrested for destruction of property?

No.

Of course not.

I drew away from him, wiping the defiant tears off my cheek. "I can't go back there, not after you've all seen what I'm like."

He look confused for a moment, then shrugged.

"Bitte," he said. "Zhe administrator wishes to speak vith you about zhe job opening. Zhat is vhy you came here in zhe first place, right?"

I paused. So there was a boss. This administrator person, apparently. And they still wanted to meet me? Even after the issue with the control panel?

The doctor took my hand and felt the bounding vein in my wrist. He studied my face, brows furrowed.

"Ah! Vhat is zhis?," he said, noticing the cut on my hand. "How did zhis happen?"

I muttered something like "it's just a little scratch". He sighed and said, "Please, let me bring you back. You should get zhis taken care of."

I tensed.

If he thought he was going to plunge a needle and thread through my living flesh in order to get this little nothing of a cut "taken care of" he was most definitely mistaken.

"Nope, I'm fine. It'll heal by itself. Don't need stitches."

He laughed. "I vasn't going to give you any stitches. I vas only going to put some disinfectant and a bandage on it."

After a moment of thought, I nodded softly, feeling even more awkward and embarrassed.

The doctor carefully picked me up and began striding back towards where I had run from.

I felt oddly safe. It reminded me of when my dad used to carry me to bed and tuck me in when I was little. I found myself wanting to slip into sleep, despite the circumstances. I absently rested my head on his chest and closed my eyes. I'm not sure how long I was like that, but the next thing I knew-

"Comfortable, fräulein?" He said, voice amused.

My eyes shot open. I jerked my head up and stuttered, "N-no, no. I'm fine. I mean, yeah, I'm comfortable, but I mean...just...nevermind."

I wanted to die, right there. It wasn't bad enough I'd made a fool of myself breaking the panel and running like a scared deer, but now this?

He finally set me down, and I thanked him hurriedly for the help.

"It vas nothing," he said, shrugging. He still had a curious look in his eye that made me feel strangely shy.

I grabbed my duffle bag from where I had left it earlier and noticed that the alarms had stopped going off, but the entrance was still wide open. I saw more people standing just inside, all looking at me with interest.

The doctor clapped a hand on my shoulder, making me jump, and said brightly, "Now zhat you're back vhere ve need you, ve can officially velcome you to zhe fort!"

He gently pushed me towards the door and I looked around. Inside was a wide open space full of crates, boxes, scattered tools, and passageways leading off to the sides. Tarps, old promotional posters, and even more bullet marks covered the walls, and in general the whole place had the atmospheric feeling of a warehouse.

There were roughly half a dozen men of varying shapes and sizes standing in the room, talking to eachother and pointing at me.

I felt thoroughly awkward being the only woman in the room. I edged slowly to the side, trying to stay out of focus, but the doctor took my arm.

"Men, zhis is our newest recruit...ehm..." He turned to me and asked quietly, "What is your name?"

Oh jeez. I hadn't even said my name yet.

"(F/n)." I said.

The doctor smiled. "A fitting name for a lovely fräu as yourself." He bowed. "I am zhe Medic, the team doctor. If you even need to be stitched up, just come to me and I'll have you put to rights in no time."

I felt a little tweak of queasiness at the mention of being stitched up (again) but I thanked him anyway.

Suddenly another figure stood in my way. I looked up and saw a smirking grin plastered across the face of a young man around my age.

"Hey hey hey, sweetheart," he said. He had a strong Bostonian accent and spoke really fast. "I'm the scout. Runner extraordinaire. Basher-inner of heads." He grinned, showing a mouthful of brilliant teeth. "Glad you decided to join. I'm lookin' forward to workin' with ya." He winked at me.

"Yeah, you too, I guess," I said, smiling back at him weakly.

I felt a tap on my shoulder. I spun around and came face to face with a gas mask.

I almost screamed, but this new stranger, who was wearing a full-bodied blue hazmat suit with fireman's boots and gloves, stretched out his arms and wrapped me in a tight hug.

"Hudda! Hudda mmmph mmph hurrrr!" He said, voice completely unintelligible from inside the mask.

I pried myself away from the guy in the gas mask. "Yeah, uh ok. Good to meet you too."

He reached into a pocket and pulled out a lighter, clicked it on, and held out the flame to me like he was offering a piece of gum. "Hudda hhmph hurhur?"

"No thanks," I said politely.

He shrugged and pocketed the lighter again.

I turned to the others. "Well, it's been great meeting you guys, but I really think I should speak with the administrator about my job. I haven't even been formally hired yet."

One of the men, wearing a helmet and blue uniform, perked up. "You are an unauthorized visitor inside the fort?! This is not acceptable! You have seen the inner workings of team BLU! You must be destroyed!" He suddenly charged forward and pinned me against the wall, pulling back a fist for a punch. It was a deadly looking fist.

Totally confused and seeing my life flash before my eyes, I shut my eyes tight and braced myself for the impact.

But it never came.

Instead I felt the grip on my shoulder loosen and heard yet another voice, this time with a heavy french accent, shout, "Easy, gentleman. Zhis young woman is 'ere to be interviewed for a job. Killing her now would not be of any use to us."

I opened one eye slowly, then the other, and saw a slender man wearing a blue suit and a face-mask pushing the overzealous soldier out of the way.

He turned to me and smiled, taking my hand kissing the back of it. "Hello, mon Cherie," he said.

"Hi," I said awkwardly, stepping back nervously.

I was starting to wish all these dumb introductions would end so I could get on with my job.

"Look, I'm sorry if i sound rude, but I really need to go. I'm sure we can pick up where we left off after I actually get the job. See you later. Maybe."

I hurried away, following the worn signs on the walls towards the administrator's office, taking a deep breath of relief that I was out of such odd company.


	3. Chapter 3

**((Hope you enjoyed the last chapter. It was fun to write, and my apologies we didn't get to interact with many of the mercs yet. It will come, worry not! The real question is, will our heroine even reach the Administrator's office, or will she be sidetracked by the antics of her new teammates?))**

The halls of the "fortress", as Medic had put it, were a lot more confusing than you might expect.

I found myself striding semi-confidently down one passage one minute, and wandering in puzzlement down another seconds later. Not once, not twice, but FOUR times I walked past the entrances after going in circles, and I heard the voices of the guys briefly as I passed.

A couple times I considered asking one of them for assistance, but every time the idea wiggled into my brain, I pushed it out, determined to find the office by on own accord.

The only problem was I had absolutely no idea where I was supposed to be going.

"Can't anything ever be just simple?" I muttered as I past the exact same "Mann Co. Makes Great Stuff for Great Menn!" poster for the umpteenth time.

Mild irritation bubbled in my throat and I sat down on a crate, resting my head in my hands.

The cut on my palm stung a little, and I tried not to think about everything that had happened before. The past is in the past. Focus on the present, I told myself.

I heard cheerful whistling coming from the right. I looked towards the source and saw one of the other men carrying a large blue toolbox on his shoulder. He was wearing a hard hat and safety goggles, with overalls and knee pads. He looked like a construction worker.

"'Evenin'," he said, noticing me on the crate as he walked by.

"Good evening." I replied.

He kept walking at first, not paying me much heed, but a second later he came back, looking astonished.

"Whoa there, miss!" He said, putting down the toolbox, "What are you doing in the fort? Are you allowed to be here?" His voice had a gentle sound to it, and he had a southern accent.

"Yeah...about that..." I started slowly.

He tilted his head curiously and listened as I explained my whole predicament.

"...so basically I just need to talk to this 'Administrator' person so I can get hired and start sending money back to my family so they don't go hungry!" I finished, starting to get anxious about it all.

He was quiet for minute, just thoughtfully looking at me with his chin resting on his hand. Then he smiled.

"Well why didn't you just say so in the first place?" He said brightly. "I can take you there. It's a bit of a walk from here but it'll pass quickly with company."

It looked like I wasn't going to be finding the office by myself. There goes that aspiration. But deep down I think I was relieved someone was helping me navigate these labyrinthine corridors.

I got up and followed him down the hallway to the left.

"I'm sorry, miss," he said suddenly, sounding a little embarrassed. "I haven't introduced myself. I'm the Engineer." He reached out a hand for me to shake. "My job is to help our team by constructin' sentry guns and dispensers and stuff like that."

"Nice to meet you. I'm (f/n). I'm...uh...a new recruit, I guess?"

He nodded. "Sniper told us earlier we might have some new arrivals today. I guess you're the only one who showed up in the end."

"Ah, ok. Cool."

We past a large, open, circular area with a platform in the center. The center of the platform was glowing blue. It must have served some key purpose because the area looked like it was built to protect it from all sides.

"That there's a control point," Engineer said, pointing towards the platform.

Control point? What?

He noticed my confusion. "Yeh see, there are two teams, RED and BLU. We fight eachother almost every day, competing to push a bomb into the other team's base or trying to capture the control points. You'll learn all about it in training." He smiled. "Hey, we're almost there. We just got to follow this passage until-"

He was cut off by a loud siren suddenly sounding. Lights flashed.

The voice of a bitter sounding woman with an English accent came blaring through the loudspeakers, "Man your stations! All mercenaries to spawn! Team RED is approaching!"

Engineer's face fell, he spun around. "Holy cow!" He said, and he sprinted back from where we came from. "C'mon, miss! I think your training starts now!"

I ran after him. "But I haven't even been hired yet! Don't you think someone will notice if a random girl just shows up on the battlefield or whatever?!"

He grabbed his toolbox from where he left it and shouted over his shoulder, "Just follow orders and yeh'll do fine!"

We ran down a few more hallways and with every step the muddled voices of our teammates got louder. Finally Engineer darted inside a small, cramped room where the other guys were.

Everybody was talking at once. They all seemed excited, giddy, even. I guess these battles were hot stuff around here.

I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing. I just sort of stood there between Scout and a guy with an eyepatch and a bomb launching gun and spare explosives strapped to his vest.

"You ready for dis, Demo?" Scout asked him, twirling a baseball bat in one hand.

"Aye! Those blasted REDs won't know what hit 'em!" He laughed and brandished his gun gleefully.

The woman's voice echoed through the room again. "Ten minutes until mission begins."

I looked around for some sort of direction. Everyone else knew what they were doing and looked too busy to bother helping me.

I worked my way across the room to where I saw the French man in the suit.

"Uh, hey," I said.

He glanced down at me.

"So I was wondering if you could maybe tell me what I'm supposed to be doing? Like you know, what exactly my job is?"

He sighed in an irritated sort of way. He looked around the room at the other guys. "Is there anyone else you can bother for help? I can't be the one who babysits the newcomer." He lit a cigarette. "I 'ave too many other responsibilities." He turned away and started fiddling around with his knife.

I narrowed my eyes angrily. "Ok Mr. High-and-Mighty. If you're so busy you can't spend two seconds telling a brand-new teammate what her job is then I'm sure you don't have enough time for a smoke."

I reached over and ripped the cigarette away from him and tossed it on the ground with deliberately more force than was necessary.

Everyone froze.

"Mein gott," Medic said quietly.

"Did you just-did that actually-" Scout stuttered, an incredulous grin on his face.

It was probably a stupid thing to do, but the energy of the moment egged me on. "Ok! Now that you've got a minute, would you care to give me some instructions, please?"

There was a short silence. All the other guys had gathered around me and the man in the mask, watching with bated breath. Jeez, I didn't think it would have turned into such a commotion, but there you go.

Finally he spoke. His voice was quiet and deadly sounding. "Do you know exactly who I am?"

I tensed a little, realizing that I did not in fact actually know who he was. He didn't wait for me to respond.

"I am the Spy. Arguably the most dangerous man on this team." He took a step forward, his knife shining reflected light directly in my eyes. I squinted, keeping my attention focused on him, showing I wasn't afraid.

"I can snuff out the life of anyone I choose with a flick of the wrist." In one fluid movement his knife folded away and he slipped it into a coat pocket.

I tried to keep staring him down, but it was hard to not instinctively get away from him as he approached.

"I can become one with the shadows, impossible to trace even in an empty room..."

He suddenly vanished.

It wasn't even gradual, he was simply there one second and wasn't the next.

I started, looking around anxiously for where he'd gone.

All around, my other teammates were stone-faced. They looked like they'd seen this before.

"Come on out!" I said, sounding braver than I felt. "Are you really hiding from a girl? You must be more of a wuss than I thought."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Medic shaking his head at me frantically as if to say "just stop right there", and Sniper was rubbing his eyes and muttering under his breath.

I felt a tap on my shoulder. I spun around, expecting to see the invisible man holding his precious little knife to my throat, but instead...I was staring at myself.

It wasn't possible. But it was true. There I was, standing in front of me, wearing my own clothes, my own hair and my own face, grinning evilly.

I swallowed, feeling really freaked out. My teammates just watched on in silence.

"And this, I suppose, is the most important of them all." I heard my own voice say as the other me reached up and stroked my cheek. "I can make you do whatever I want you to do, Cherie."

Then the clone shimmered a bit and turned back into the Spy. "You want to know what my advice is to you? Stay out of the way. Leave the work to those of who know what we are doing."

He smirked and strode back to his corner and lit another cigarette.

I clenched my fists and glared at him. What had started off as mild frustration had twisted and grown into fury. He hadn't even given me a chance to show what I can do.

"Mission begins in five minutes," the voice came again.

Engineer walked up next to me. "You know, I hate to say it but...he might be right. Maybe you should just keep a low profile 'til the administrator gives you the thumbs up." He gave me an apologetic look and patted my shoulder.

I sighed and slunk over to the corner and leaned against the wall, watching the others prepare for the mission.

Well, Spy was right about one thing...they definitely seemed to know what they were doing. At least mostly. Everyone was reloading their weapons, double-checking armor and equipment, and warming up for battle.

Everyone but me, of course. I was just standing dumbly in the back, wishing I could be of use. I kicked an empty bullet shell away from my foot.

Suddenly I felt a weird sensation creep over me, almost like being wrapped up in a blanket of happiness. It was hard to explain.

I glanced up and noticed there was an odd blue glow emanating off me.

"What the-" I muttered. There was a trail of blue light leading away from me that seemed to be giving me this feeling. I followed the trail to its source and saw Medic a few feet away, holding some sort of gun that attached to a device on his back. The light was coming out from the gun, and it made a low humming noise.

"...what are you doing...?" I asked slowly.

"Oh! Just healing you. I'm trying to get charged before zhe battle begins so we have a head start."

I had no idea what he was talking about but I said, "Oh. Ok then. Carry on."

"Mission begins in thirty seconds!" The voice said.

"Where the bloody 'ell is Heavy?" Sniper said loudly, looking around impatiently. "If he doesn't show up on time the whole strategy is blown."

The voice began to count down the seconds. "Ten...nine...eight..."

There was a pounding of footsteps behind us and I turned to see the biggest man, and the biggest gun, I'd

ever seen running into the room.

"Heavy is here! Sorry is late! Was getting sandvich for battle." He had a rumbling voice and a thick Russian accent.

"Well, you are here now and that is what matters!" Soldier said loudly.

Suddenly there was a loud bang and the grated doors blocking the exit opened. The team all rushed out at once, whooping and yelling battle cries.

Sounds of bullets and explosions followed soon after. Every once in a while I'd hear someone yell "medic!" or the woman on the intercom would announce that "the enemy is seizing a control point" or something.

I watched the battle through the windows of the spawn room, wishing I had something to do. Anything.

I tried to leave the spawn room, but the back entrance was locked again, so I just shuffled around, being bored.

I sat down on a crate and watched the minutes tick by, listening to the woman on the intercom sporadically announce the status of the mission.

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. Maybe it would end soon and I could get on with my interview.

Then something heavy was placed in my lap.

I looked down and saw a gun. It wasn't too big, but it did have rather large ammo. Eight inch syringes. I cringed and almost dropped the gun.

"If you have nozhing else to do, I vas going to ask you if you vould like to cover me."

Medic was standing in front of me, looking at me expectantly. "You seemed very eager to help out, and I could use a helping hand. Everyone alvays tries to kill zhe medic first."

I stood up slowly, not sure whether this was a good idea or not. Engineer and Spy had both suggested I should just wait until I had some training before I rushed in and made a fool of myself...but hey. Where's the fun in that?

If I'm joining a team of mercenaries who doing nothing but fight each other all day, I might as well give it a go and see what it's like.

I grinned mischievously.

"Lead the way, sir." I said, readying the syringe gun and feeling the adrenaline coursing through my veins.


End file.
